Computer Hardware Unit

Binary '1' in a transistor

ON state — current is flowing

Binary '0' in a transistor

OFF state — no current flowing

Moore's Law

Proposed by Gordon Moore; predicts the number of transistors on a chip doubles approximately every two years

Physical Core

An actual independent processing unit etched onto the silicon hardware

Logical Core (Thread)

The OS's view of a core; technologies like Hyperthreading allow one physical core to act as two logical cores

Three major tasks of BIOS/UEFI

1) Perform the POST 2) Identify and initialize hardware components 3) Boot the operating system

POST

Power-On Self-Test — diagnostic test run by BIOS/UEFI on startup

Memory Hierarchy (fastest to largest)

Registers → L1 Cache → L2 Cache → L3 Cache → RAM → HDD/SSD

PCIe x16 slot

Standard slot for a dedicated graphics card

DIMM slot

Slot where RAM is installed on the motherboard

SATA connector

Connects mechanical hard drives or SATA SSDs

ATX Power connector

The main 24-pin power connection for the motherboard

M.2 slot

Used for high-speed NVMe SSDs

USB Type-C

Small, rounded, reversible port

VGA port

Trapezoid-shaped, blue, 15-pin display connector

RJ-45

Phone-jack style but wider (8 pins); used for Ethernet

HDMI

Port that carries both digital video and high-definition audio

Two advantages of SSD over HDD

1) Speed: faster read/write with no moving parts 2) Durability: more resistant to physical shock

95% cache hit rate

The CPU found needed data in high-speed cache 95% of the time; a cache miss forces the CPU to fetch from slower RAM

Single-core vs multi-core: calculator task

Single-core high-frequency CPU (e.g. 5.0 GHz) is better — single-threaded task benefits from higher clock speed

Single-core vs multi-core: video editing

Quad-core CPU is better — work is split across 4 physical cores simultaneously

Blind or buried vias on a motherboard

Reduce signal interference (crosstalk) and save space on complex multi-layered motherboards

Three benefits of a dedicated GPU

1) Offloads CPU from graphics math 2) Has its own VRAM freeing system RAM 3) Supports multiple monitor connections

Quantum tunneling fix in transistors

Engineers use new materials (high-k dielectrics) or new structures (FinFET or Gate-All-Around) to better control electricity flow

ALU

Arithmetic and Logic Unit — performs calculations and logic comparisons inside the CPU

Control Unit (CU)

Part of the CPU that fetches and decodes instructions and directs CPU operations

Bus Interface Unit

The bridge connecting RAM to the CPU for data transfer

Fetch

Fetch: Control Unit gets instruction from RAM.

Decode

Decode: Control Unit translates it into CPU signals.

Execute

Execute: ALU performs the operation.